Sambal Eggs

As a spicy food lover, there is nothing I love more than hot and spicy sambal chilli. Cooking these sambal eggs (sambal telur) is easier than it looks, because I almost always have a ready stash of home-made sambal tumis in the fridge. The sambal chilli is not just a great condiment, it can also, like in this case, double up as a base sauce for cooking.  I alternate between cooking this dish with quail eggs (as shown in the photo above) and regular hen eggs. Instructions for cooking with both types of eggs are included in the recipe.

See Also:

Deep fried quail eggs
These quail eggs are hard-boiled, deep-fried (optional step which improves the taste and texture) and slathered in the hot sambal sauce.

Sambal Quail Eggs Recipe

They go incredibly well with steamed rice or the local favourite Nasi Lemak (Malaysian coconut rice). The taste is simply sedap!

Sambal Egg Recipe
This is regular hen egg (did not deep fry) and served Nasi Lemak style with achar, roasted peanuts and ikan bilis.

Sambal Eggs Recipe

Deep-frying the eggs give better flavour and texture, but it’s entirely optional. You can skip this step for healthier choice or if you are busy.

Ingredients:

  • 12 to 16 quail eggs, or 4 regular hen eggs
  • half onion or 4 shallots peeled and roughly sliced
  • vegetable oil for deep-frying

(A) Sambal Sauce

  • 1 heaped tbsp sambal tumis
  • assam (tamarind) solution dissolve 1 tsp assam pulp in 1/4 cup water; solution strained
  • 1/2 tsp chilli powder for extra heat; to taste
  • a small pinch salt (or use 1/2 tsp home-made ikan bilis powder; to taste)
  • 1/2 tsp fish sauce to taste
  • 1/2 tsp granulated gula melaka or regular sugar to taste

Directions:

  1. To cook hard-boiled eggs, place them in a small pot with enough water to cover the eggs. For quail eggs, bring to boil for 5 minutes. For regular eggs, bring to a boil for 2 minutes, turn off the stove and cover the pot with a lid for 10 minutes. Cool eggs in a bowl of water and peel them when cool enough to handle. Set aside.
  2. Heat some vegetable oil in a pot. Add cooked eggs (make sure you pat them very dry with a paper towel first) and deep-fry until golden. Drain excess oil on paper towels or tempura paper.
  3. Add (A) to a saucepan. Bring to a quick simmer and season the sauce to taste.
  4. Add onions (or shallots) and cook them until just softened, adding a bit of water anytime the sauce runs dry during cooking. When the onions are cooked, return the eggs back to the pan, coating them evenly in the sambal sauce before serving.